Former Tiffany Exec Sentenced To A year In Prison For Stealing $2M From Employer

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun

In terms of news, it hasn't been a good holiday for Tiffany & Co. Over the weekend the luxury jeweler learned it lost its dispute with Swatch Group. Now, the latest high-profile mishap was the sentencing Monday of a former employee for the theft of 2.1 million in jewelry from the company’s Fifth Avenue headquarters building. 

Of course it's a much more difficult holiday for Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, a former VP of design & product development at Tiffany & Co., who was sentence to a year and a day in prison in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. 

Lederhaas-Okun, 47, of Darien, Conn., pled guilty in July for the theft, which occurred over a four-month period. In addition to the prison term, she was sentenced to one year of supervised release, ordered to forfeit more than $2.1 million pay and more than $2.2 million in restitution.

Under her duties and responsibilities at Tiffany, Lederhaas-Okun had the authority to check out jewelry belonging to Tiffany for work-related reasons. Between November 2012 and February 2013, she admitted to checking out more than 165 pieces of jewelry with a retail value of more than $1.2 million, including diamond bracelets, platinum or gold diamond drop and hoop earrings, platinum diamond rings, and platinum and diamond pendants. She then sold some if not all of this jewelry for $1.3 million to another company in Manhattan, who the US Attorney’s office and the court haven’t named. It’s also unclear whether the company knew it was purchasing stolen jewelry. 

To conceal her theft, she repeatedly made false statements to Tiffany, according to court documents. For example, after her termination in February 2013, she told company representatives that she had only recently checked out the missing jewelry in anticipation of creating a PowerPoint presentation. However, the missing jewelry had been checked out months earlier, her supervisor was unaware of any such presentation being worked on by her and there was no presentation on her computer. In addition, she claimed the stolen jewelry could be found in a white envelope in her office, but a search of her office shortly after her departure did not yield any such envelope.

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Lev Leviev Wants His Jewelry Returned

Platinum necklace with 41 square emerald cut diamonds, 73.64 ctw. Photo credit; Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

Images of several luxury jewelry pieces stolen from a Cannes hotel are now available for view. The items were taken July 28 in a brazen daylight robbery at the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel, the center of life in the luxury resort city. The value of the jewelry stolen, first estimated at $53 million, was upgraded to $136 million, making it the largest jewelry theft in France and one of the largest in the world. 

55.38-carat flawless emerald-cut diamond ring flanked by two tapered baguette diamonds mounted on platinum. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

The photographs of the 30 jewelry items are now available on Forbes.com
 

The diamonds used to create this necklace include: A 6.52-carat pear shaped radiant drop, 15 radiant-cut fancy, vivid yellow diamonds (12.38ctw), with oval, pear-shaped and marquises (37.73ctw), accented with 12 baguettes (0.23ctw) mounted on platinum and yellow gold. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

SW Associates, a Paris-based loss adjuster and risk manager working for Lloyd's of London, is offering a million-euro reward ($1.34 million) “to the first person who provides information which leads to recovery of the goods." 

Earrings featuring 14 oval sapphires (18.01ctw), eight marquise-shaped diamonds (4.64ctw), carre-cut diamonds (3.81ctw), round brilliant diamonds (3.90ctw) on platinum and 18k white gold. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

Pictures of the jewelry were released publicly Tuesday on the Roskin Gem News Report, a blog owned and operated by gemologist and gem writer, Gary Roskin. It is accompanied by story written by veteran jewelry and watch writer, William George Shuster. The photographs were originally posted on the Jewelers' Security Alliance website. 

11.4-carat fancy, intense, blue, oval diamond on a ring surrounded by pink and colorless melee set on platinum and 18k rose gold. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

 
All of the jewelry belonged to the Leviev diamond company, owned by billionaire diamond merchant, Lev Leviev. The hotel was showcasing a temporary exhibit of Leviev jewelry. 

Necklace with a 3.27 Trapezoid-shaped diamond, a 1.02-carat vivid yellow trapezoid diamond and a 1.59-shield-shaped diamond with emerald and diamond beads throughout (110.00ctw). Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

 
The photographs of up to 36 of the jewelry pieces stolen will soon be available on this page as well. The jewelry in the photographs includes many high-karat, internally flawless colorless diamonds along with large pink and yellow diamonds, and emeralds and sapphires, set in platinum and 18k gold. 

6.17-carat oval-shaped light-pink diamond on a ring surrounded by diamond melee and set on 18k pink gold and platinum. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

Reports estimate that 72 pieces (including rings, pendants and earrings) were stolen, with 34 items considered “exceptional.” The thief lost some of the jewelry while fleeing. 

23 pear-shaped diamonds (14.18ctw) 128 round brilliant diamonds (28.65ctw) set in platinum.
29.04-carat sapphire on a ring accented with round brilliant-cut diamonds (2.08ctw). Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

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13.22-carat fancy deep brownish, greenish, yellow diamond ring flanked by two bullet-cut diamonds and set in 18k yellow gold and platinum. Photo credit: Jewelers' Security Alliance and SW Associates

$53 Million Worth Of Leviev Diamond Jewelry Stolen In Cannes

Advertisement for the Leviev jewelry exhibition outside the Carlton International Hotel, where the theft took place.

At least one person made off with an estimated $53 million worth of jewelry from the Leviev diamond company that was on display at a hotel in Cannes, France, according to several reports.

The brazen theft occurred Sunday around noon in the lobby of the Intercontinental Carlton hotel where an exhibit of Leviev jewelry titled, "Extraordinary Diamonds," was on display in the lobby. The diamond company is owned by billionaire Lev Leviev.

Details are sketchy but reports indicate that a lone person who may have been armed made off with an undetermined amount of jewelry from the exhibition in a briefcase, according to reports. The exhibit was schedule to conclude at the end of August.

If the value of the jewels is confirmed, it could be the second-largest heist ever in France, the BBC reports.

The French Riviera resort city has been a hotbed of jewelry robberies as of late. The famed Cannes International Film festival Held in May had two high-profile thefts: A necklace by Swiss jeweler De Grisogono reportedly worth $2.5 million was stolen at a celebrity party and a week earlier $1 million worth of Chopard jewels were stolen from the hotel room of an employee of the Swiss company.

The country's biggest robbery took place in 2008, when three men stole jewelry on display at an exhibition in Paris with an estimated value of $113 million, the BBC reports.

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Former Tiffany VP Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.1 Million of Jewelry

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun

A former VP of Product Development at Tiffany & Co., pled guilty Friday in Manhattan federal court to stealing over $2.1 million worth of jewelry from her former employer.

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, 46, of Darien, Conn., pled guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. As part of her plea agreement, she agreed to forfeit more than $2.1 million and further agreed to make restitution in the amount of more than $2.2 million, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

She was arrested earlier this month and pled guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. She is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Gardephe on December 10.

“Over a period of years, Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, an executive at a high-end jewelry company, looted her employer’s jewelry inventory and then resold millions of dollars’ worth of the merchandise in order to enrich herself,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Friday. Today, she stands convicted for her thievery and faces the prospect of prison.”

From at least January 2011 until February 2013, Lederhaas-Okun worked as a VP of Product Development at Tiffany’s midtown Manhattan headquarters, according to court documents. Her duties and responsibilities included ensuring that product designs could be manufactured. She had authority to check out jewelry belonging to Tiffany for work-related reasons.

Between November 2012 and February 2013, Lederhaas-Okun checked out more than 165 pieces of jewelry with a retail value of more than $1.2 million, including numerous diamond bracelets, platinum or gold diamond drop and hoop earrings, platinum diamond rings, and platinum and diamond pendants,” according to court documents. She then sold some if not all of this jewelry for $1.3 million to an unnamed international buyer and reseller of jewelry in midtown Manhattan. The jewelry reseller paid for the stolen merchandise by paying Lederhaas-Okun or her husband, in transactions arranged either by her or a friend working on her behalf.

It is unclear whether this reseller knew the jewelry was stolen.

In addition, on November 2012, following an announcement by Tiffany that it was going to undertake a full physical inventory review, Lederhaas-Okun said that approximately $1.5 million worth of jewelry which she had checked out would have to be written off, according to court documents. However, none of that jewelry was ever returned to Tiffany, contrary to the usual practice of accounting for inventory, such as damaged jewelry, that would have to be written off because it had been rendered unusable in some way.

To conceal her theft, Lederhaas-Okun made repeated false statements to Tiffany. For example, after her termination in February 2013, she told the luxury jeweler that she had recently checked out jewelry to create a PowerPoint presentation for her supervisor, and that a draft of the presentation could be found on her office computer. However, the missing pieces of jewelry had been checked out months earlier, her supervisor was unaware of any such presentation and there was no draft presentation on her computer. In addition, she claimed the jewelry could be found in a white envelope in her office, but a search of her office shortly after her departure did not yield any white envelope.

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Tiffany Exec Arrested for Stealing $1.3M in Jewelry

The Linkedin photo of Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun. 

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, a former VP of Design & Product Development at Tiffany & Co., was arrested Tuesday morning at her residence in Darien, Conn., for allegedly stealing nearly $1.3 million worth of jewelry from her employer. She was scheduled to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court later in the day to face charges of wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property.

Lederhaas-Okun used her executive position to allegedly “check out” 165 pieces of jewelry with a retail value of more than $1.2 million, including diamond bracelets, platinum or gold diamond drop and hoop earrings, platinum diamond rings, and platinum and diamond pendants, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. 

She then allegedly “sold some if not all” of this jewelry for $1.3 million to a company the feds describe as “a leading international buyer and reseller of jewelry with an office in midtown Manhattan,” according to the statement.

In addition to the jewelry under question, federal prosecutors allege that in November 2012, following an announcement by Tiffany that it was going to undertake a full physical inventory review, Lederhaas-Okun said that approximately $1.5 million worth of jewelry which she had checked out would have to be written off. “However, none of that jewelry was ever returned to the jewelry company, contrary to the usual practice of accounting for inventory, such as damaged jewelry, that would have to be written off because it had been rendered unusable in some way,” federal officials said in the statement

Prosecutors allege that Lederhaas-Okun made repeated false statements to the luxury jeweler. “For example, after her termination in February 2013, she told the jewelry company that she had only recently checked out the missing jewelry in anticipation of creating a PowerPoint presentation for her supervisor, and that a draft of the presentation could be found on her office computer. However, the missing pieces of jewelry had been checked out months earlier, her supervisor was unaware of any such presentation being worked on … and there was no draft presentation on her computer.”

Lederhaas-Okun also claimed the jewelry in question could be found in a white envelope in her office, but after a search of her office, the envelope wasn’t recovered, prosecutors allege.

The statement did not identify Tiffany by name. However, a Linkedin page for Lederhaas-Okun shows that she worked for the luxury retail jeweler from January 1991 till March 2013, including a six-year stint as VP of Design & Product Development. 

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View the Chopard Jewelry Thieves Tried To Steal at Cannes

Cara Delevigne wears a diamond necklace and earrings from
Chopard's 2013 Red Carpet Collection during the 66th Annual Cannes
Film Festival opening ceremony and "The Great Gatsby" Premiere.

Chopard downplayed the theft of some of its valuable jewels from a hotel room during the Cannes Film Festival. In a statement, the luxury jeweler and watchmaker said police reports estimating the value of upwards of $1.4 million was an exaggeration and the jewels were not from its 2013 Red Carpet Collection unveiled at Cannes and destined to be worn by celebrities at the many of the glamorous festival events.

However, company officials refuse to say what was stolen and the value, citing the ongoing investigation. A festival official reportedly said the Palme d'Or, the trophy designed by Chopard and awarded to the best director winner at the festival.

Prior to the theft, the company unveiled its Red Carpet Collection of jewels and watches during the opening night ceremony of the 66th annual festival and 'The Great Gatsby' Premiere with celebrities including Julianne Moore, Cindy Crawford and Lana Del Rey wearing pieces from the collection. Designed by Caroline Scheufele, co-president and artistic director of the House of Chopard, the collection features big diamond pieces along with delicate colored gem stones works set in 18k gold.

You don’t have to be a thief to view the collection. Below is an overview of the 66 pieces in the collection along with some of the celebrities who wore the pieces on the Cannes red carpet.

Diamond and 18k white gold necklace set with a 5-carat pear-cut diamond and 284 rose-cut diamond totaling almost 183 carats.

Julianne Moore wears a Chopard diamond necklace. Photo credit: Venturelli/WireImage

This Poppy Ring combines diamonds with more than 700 rubies, 640 tsavorites and 168 emeralds with 18k white and yellow gold. 

Cindy Crawford in Chopard earrings.

18k white gold set with two oval-shaped blue tanzanites (17cts), multicoloured spinels (15cts), tourmalines, amethysts and diamonds.

Indian actress and model Freida Pinto. Photo credit: Michael Buckner/WireImage 

Pear-shaped 65-carat kunzite mounted on 18k white gold paved with diamonds.

American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey.
Photo credit: Dominique Charriau/WireImage

15-carat heart-shaped Paraiba Tourmaline mounted on an 18k white gold ring set with more than 1,000 diamonds.

Solange Knowles in Chopard 2013 Red Carpet Collection earrings.

18k white gold ring set with a 15-carat pear-shaped spinel and finished in diamond pave. 

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$1M of Chopard Red Carpet Jewelry Stolen at Cannes Film Festival

Julianne Moore in Chopard jewelry during Cannes Film Festival

Approximately $1 million worth of Chopard jewelry was stolen from a hotel suite Thursday during the second day of the Cannes Film Festival, according to CNN and other reports.

The jewelry stolen was meant to worn by celebrities during festival events. Which pieces were stolen and who was scheduled to wear them is unknown at this time. The jewels were taken from a safe inside a suite in a Novotel hotel on Boulevard Carnot in Cannes, according to the report. The thieves unscrewed the safe from inside the hotel room and carried it out sometime between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m., while the person guarding them was out at dinner.

The luxury jeweler and watchmaker has been closely associated with the world’s most famous international film festival for the past 15 years. Chopard’s designs the Palme d’Or, the prize awarded to the best director, and presents the Trophée Chopard to the “Best Young Actor and Actress of the Year.”

Each year the brand also unveils its Red Carpet Collection of luxury jewelry and watches at the film festival, worn by the biggest celebrities at this event, known internationally for its glitz and glamour. The stolen items are believed to be from this collection.
  
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